SOTU Preview: Bush to Order Agencies to Ignore Earmarks
Despite a pledge to bring earmarks under control, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid saw 11,331 earmarks passed in 2007 - a 426% increase - second only to 2005's more than 13,000 earmarks. But if President Bush has his way, those are the last 11,331 earmarks in American history.
The White House has announced that President Bush will issue an Executive Order tomorrow, "directing Federal agencies to ignore any future earmark that is not voted on and included in a law approved by Congress." Since the vast majority of earmarks - all of the troubling ones, really - are inserted without ever being voted on, this Executive Order will be the fat lady and the song all in one. Expect to here Bush talking about earmarks and fiscal responsibility a lot in the State of the Union tonight.
Mark Tapscott is a bit bothered that the Executive Order doesn't do anything about the earmarks in legislation that already passed. And he sagely points out that the Executive Order only lasts until another President overrides it. This would be a good time to pressure your candidates asking them to pledge to uphold the earmark ban.
Still, Congressmen and lobbyists will have to go through that process of actually getting their expense requests through some Congressional committees and votes now. What a downer for them.
For bonus, last year's top earmarkers: In the Senate, #1 Thad Cochran (R-MS $773m), #2 Ted Stevens (R-AK $500m), #3 Robert Byrd (D-WV $429m). Harry Reid was #6 with $335m. In the House: #1 Bill Young (R-FL $161), #2 John Murtha (D-PA $152) and #3 Jerry Lewis (R-CA $136). Nancy Pelosi was #8 with $87m.
